This past weekend I went to a crop for National Scrapbook Day and got a few layouts completed. I brought a bunch of Japan photos with me and this layout about Itsukushima (厳島神社) was the first one I finished. 
I love the red, white and blue colors in the photos that I took at the shrine so I decided to play that up with my layout's color scheme. I matted the enlarged photo with red barnwood patterned paper that reminded me of the shrine beams. On the right side I thought that the teal chevron paper looked striking as a background. I then added a strip of teal cardstock to back my white sticker title and some teal lined notebook patterned paper for journaling. As a small finishing detail I added a number strip, circled the "3" and wrote "views" in script underneath it.
The journaling reads, "Itsukushima, located off of the coast near Hiroshima, is seen as one of the three great views of Japan. Founded in 593 at the base of Mount Misen the shrine is famous for the enormous torii gate built out in the bay. At low tide it is even possible to walk out to it and walk around the base. All of the buildings at the shrine are white with vibrant vermilion beams that make a lovely contrast with the blue skies and water that surrounds the island. I love the majesty of the shrine so much that I have visited it twice while in Japan. It is a truly amazing and spectacular place. 8/2010"
If you are interested, check out some of my other layouts: Scrapbooking